Er Bao shook his head, expressing his displeasure. “Want to go with mama.”
Da Bao, who held the toy gun, made ‘tatata’ sound with his mouth. “Practice boxing with great-grandpa, wow!”
San Bao clung onto Qiao Nan’s back. “Mama, dress, pretty, Sanbao wears.” She was saying that she did not know anything about early childhood education. She only liked pretty blouses and dresses. Her mother should make more clothes for her.
Qiao Nan, who was exhausted by her triplets, turned up at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs feeling drained and tired the next day. She could not help but yawn as soon as she sat down. “Those three brats! I will get their father to take them in when he is back.” They were still young. What could they do other than study?
Deng Wenchang, who was seated opposite Qiao Nan, saw her and sneered. “Comrade Qiao, this is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, not a classroom in the college. The professors may not bother that you zone out or sleep in the classroom, but this is a workplace. Since you are here, please ensure that you have a proper working attitude. Otherwise, don’t take up other people’s space. You have better give up the position.”
Deng Wenchang was still fuming. He had done too much writing in the past two days that his hand felt very sore. All this was because of Qiao Nan.
He was not used to working at this speed. His hand felt numb and stiff. His mother had to bring him to the veteran practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine, where the physician performed moxibustion and massaged his hand. Otherwise, there was no way that Deng Wenchang could drive to work. He would have to get a driver to fetch him.
He Yi, the minister, did not even have such treatment. Deng Wenchang came to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to prove his capability and to become He Yi’s successor. He was not here to act like a young master. Deng Wenchang could not ask people to fetch him. Therefore, he had to think of ways to reduce the pain in his hand.
Qiao Nan did not expect that this would happen.
Since she was in her second year of junior high school, she was used to reading and making notes at the same time. Other than reading books, she would do research and made notes that were relevant to her studies.
Qiao Nan, who was used to writing notes, did not expect that a big man like Deng Wenchang would end up in such an embarrassing state.
Qiao Nan had some water to wake herself up. She was not in a hurry to rebut Deng Wenchang. But her calm demeanor further infuriated Deng Wenchang, making him grind his teeth. Qiao Nan waited until she was in a better mood before she made a remark. “Comrade Deng, it was merely a yawn. How can it be considered slacking? One cannot see things as they are and overgeneralize. Comrade Deng, don’t tell me that your teachers and parents taught you this?”
“Or perhaps, other than at home, Comrade Deng has never yawned or farted?” It was natural to yawn when one was tired. It was beyond one’s control.
“You…” Deng Wenchang looked disgusted. “Qiao Nan, you are a woman. How can you be so crude? If you say such stuff during work, you will be shaming our country. The foreign guests will have the wrong impression that the Chinese people are uneducated and uncultured. Qiao Nan, you should face up to reality. You are not suitable for this department.”
Qiao Nan arched her eyebrows and sat upright. “I never knew that Comrade Deng has such positive thinking.”
Deng Wenchang lifted his chin. This was his usual self.
There was a glitter in Qiao Nan’s eyes. She steered the conversation to her desired direction. “Since that is the case, let me give you a suggestion. I feel that you are not suitable for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well. As you should have known, countries on the other side of the world place high importance on being gentlemanly. If the people from these countries see your aggressive behavior toward a lady, they might misunderstand that the Chinese people are rude toward ladies and like to hurl abuses at them.”
“Xiao Qiao, come to my office for a while.” He Yi stood at the door, yelling Qiao Nan’s name.
Qiao Nan smiled at Deng Wenchang, who looked stiff, before she went into He Yi’s office. She closed the door upon entering. “Senior, is anything the matter?” If it was related to work, her senior would have passed the work to her in public.
He Yi passed a few sheets of paper to Qiao Nan. “This is some information regarding Deng Wenchang. Take a look. It might be helpful to you.”
Deng Wenchang was the son of his friend. He Yi was not very close to Father Deng, but since they knew each other, they had a slightly closer relationship. Deng Wenchang’s resume was good, and he fulfilled the requirements to join the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Actually, he was just an intern. He Yi would not be too strict with him.
He Yi knew nothing about Deng Wenchang. After doing research on Deng Wenchang for the sake of his junior, he found, to his surprise, a lot of ‘interesting’ information about Deng Wenchang.
“Tsk. It’s no wonder Deng Wenchang provoked me in front of so many people just now. It turned out this was not his first time doing that. He is experienced.” After looking through the materials, Qiao Nan was smart to shred the papers. This piece of information would not cause any big issue, but it would not look good on He Yi if other people saw it.
It was better to get rid of the papers so that other people would not have a hold on them.
He Yi was very pleased with Qiao Nan. “That’s right. This must be why he said that just now. Little junior, regardless of whether it is toward Deng Wenchang or in other areas, one must be thick-skinned. In our department, if one feels wronged, becomes upset, and cannot take it because of a few harsh words and stern looks, one is bound to have a difficult life. Junior, you must be mentally prepared.”
He Yi was not certain if his master had put Qiao Nan through special training.
When dealing with foreign diplomats and when it concerned the interests of different countries, it was all lies to say that one would maintain a good relationship with other countries. Everyone would engage in verbal battles and end up in heated disputes. The damage and power were similar to real gunpowder and guns, and bigger interests were at stake.
If one said the wrong word, not only would one embarrass oneself, but the country would suffer losses because of them as well.
Therefore, to survive in this department, one had to be thick-skinned and fierce.
The little junior seemed soft and weak like the cotton candy that children liked to eat when they were at a tender age. He Yi was worried that Qiao Nan would not be able to meet the mark. He was much older than his junior.
When he was around, he could protect her, but what would happen when he was no longer around?